The Wonders of Weather

Have you noticed that certain season(s) invigorate you? I have a friend from the deep South and for her the hot humid summer is the best time of the year. I have another friend who loves the springtime because it means new beginnings. I on the other hand am a rather strange person because I love the winter.

Please understand, I am no outdoor sports enthusiast in the winter, I don't ski, or snowshoe - but I do like walking through the snow whether it be deep, or there's only a few inches of powder on the ground and of course my dog's love the snow!

Today, in West Michigan we're truly entering the season of cold and snow! This evening, we're heading into a huge blizzard according to our local weather pundits so I am sure that the season is here to stay. That of course means we will probably have a very white Christmas, though that does not guarantee a Christmas snow. There have been years in the past where we had a blizzard a week before Christmas and had nothing left on the actual Holiday. Michigan weather can be quite finicky - our weather motto here is, "if you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes - it more than likely will change!"

So, whether you live in the Southern hemisphere where summer is just beginning to blossom, or here in my neck of the woods where we are heading into that season of snow there is always weather to savor and enjoy for everyone!

The Natural Times of My Life

For those of you who follow this mostly nature driven blog, you know that when the weather changes I usually become quite entrenched in the smells, sights and sounds of whatever time of the year has descended on my little part of West Michigan. I am one of those people who is really driven to write by those changes that brings on the various landscapes, birds, and wild life that either live or come through my yard all year long.

Tonight as I took the dogs out I was enfolded in the one smell that symbolizes this time of year for me - the fallen leaves. I do not mean the burning leaves, or even the wet ones that are common because of the weather this year, but instead that wonderful smell that comes with those warm late fall days and those leaves that fall and run around the yard with each puff of wind. These smells are so much a part of those autumn days that happen just prior to the hard freezes that destroy any smells (but the frozen world also heralds that season of white.).

I stood looking out this evening on piles of leaves all a quiver in the light wind that blew through the yard, along with the stars in the early evening sky above - it was a picture that will stay with me throughout the winter!

The dogs were also catching the smells with the leaves with the additional scents of the creatures that come along with those drifting leaves and their fragrance chased my hounds all over the yard. For them, there are so many scents afloat in the air tonight, but what holds me are those scents that are the fallen leaves. That really symbolize this time of year so strongly for me.

Our recent economy here in the Midwest, and especially here in Michigan has meant so much loss to so very many people. We who have lived here for many years know that the ups and downs of life simply happen - they are always a part of life. The things that seldom change their ways are those that inhabit our natural world. From the weather changes that come with each seasonal change that grace our area, to the birds and the many living things that crawl or creep I find such a constancy! It gives a strength and hope that things might some day get back to a more secure and less volatile time, and I rely on that.

The Seasons and Critters that Capture Me

I am a lover of the seasons, though I must admit that I am partial to a certain two. That aside, I am often driven to write by the vibrancy that I see within the natural world in the warmer seasons and the many wild critters that live in or traipse through our small patch of ground every day looking for food.

We have the typical Midwest seasons - spring, summer, autumn (fall), and winter here and because I live close to our inland fresh water sea, Lake Michigan we are slightly warmer in winter and cooler in summer much like it is for those who live along the other coasts that skirt our country. There are a multitude of birds and those four legged creatures which for a long time have stayed at the boundaries of our lives here, but as we've expanded into their wild territories we have had to welcome them among us even if we don't want to accept that wildness among us. Much like the coyotes that pepper some of the most expensive neighborhoods at night in and around Los Angeles our wild things are invading here as well.

There are of course the normal creatures found in other urban areas (the skunks, raccoons and opossum) but lately I have seen wild turkeys hanging from a few of the bird feeders or loping through the back yards that connect to mine, or the occasional red fox who slinks around the edges of the yards. I have seen eagles circling above our yard as well as the wonderful hawks and owls that when we first moved here over thirty years ago were never seen except way out in the country a long way from our suburban neighborhoods. They sometimes dive through and all around our bird feeders and really can take your breath away when they suddenly appear so suddenly and then vanish in an instant.

Unlike the craziness that has become our lives these days, the natural world continues as it has for thousands of years and holds a strong fascination for me. If we're driving around I am constantly scanning the skies for raptors of all kinds, and watching the tree line along the roads for the critters that haunt our part of the world.

The same is true concerning the weather, shapes and colors that make up the seasons here in the hills and flats of the Midwest. If you haven't read any of my articles written in the season of white you don't know that I am addicted to the images and cold that permeate the winter. I can get totally ecstatic over white mounds and snow storms. Beyond the cold times both fall and spring are times when the colors of change capture and hold my attention as a writer.

So when asked what I find interesting, and what do I write about I have to declare that the whole natural environment holds me like nothing else does. I often carry a camera with me outside, but I also carry my journal or notebook with me as well to capture those word pictures of all that I see and feel in the outdoor world of my neighborhood. Words are the brushes that I paint the pictures of the images and creatures I've seen and felt here.

So am I a naturalist, or a writer? My answer has to be that I am both, and I love it!!

Art Prize and a Fantastic Museum - All on My Front Porch!

My personal front porch went to the big city today! Our biggest neighboring city is Grand Rapids and the city and its people have spent from September 23rd to October 10th surrounded by some really grand art created just for this incredible competition! From sculptures, to paintings of all kinds, the pieces of art took over walking bridges, sidewalks, indoor spaces throughout the city, and even the river that splits the city.

My husband and I decided to take in the city's museum, but got waylaid by the many pieces of art that were found all around the museum itself. Some were in the river, on a nearby bridge and all were being enjoyed by people and and crowds of students on the river paths and the museum front yard.

My personal favorite of the pieces of art we saw was the piece that was also drawing the attention of many young students from the surrounding area as well. The Nessie Project (including sound!) was Loch Ness on the Grand River and the kids flocked to see and hear this amazing sculpture.

From there we wandered inside and through much of the museum. The main exhibit dealt with an interesting view of Leonardo Da Vinci and his machines found in his manuscripts. The exhibit had both text, and hands on examples of the artist's many visions of working machines in wood that were really fun to play with - despite the fact that we were adults! The machines were intricately designed to assist and make easy all kinds of menial labors common during this century.

While we were in the exhibit the docents, who were waiting patiently for a group of students to guide through the exhibition descended on us and we were shown an above and beyond tour of each display - we really got the best of what the exhibit had to offer! (Talk about a fun time!)

When you think of time on the front porch you certainly do not expect an "away game," type of experience. Front porches are normally where you see neighbors, and friends while sitting and enjoy your yard. But a front porch experience can also be getting away from the labors of the day while enjoying all there is to see all around us. This day was that, and I got to share the fun which is also what the concept of the front porch is suppose to be - a small escape and a place for time with family, friends, and neighbors.

Is There a Dragon in the House?

Dragons and castles. They really only live in fairy tales and stories from the European Middle Ages or tales that come out of early China or Japan. And yet, when the days get tough and things get really hard those stories often draw many in our country to those great escapes when the world becomes different, intriguing, and a whole different place to live if only in the mind!

For me imagination is a way to find an out - an escape from the reality of our world to a place where we can all have those private dreams that really take us out of this world. There are of course other genres that fits a fantasy escape people often take advantage of, and they are found in the many of the games (computer or otherwise) that help many create those other worlds just for the fun of it!

So what drives the change for more and more people to those imaginary worlds, the economy,loss of jobs, fear or all of the above? For me, it all of them and the need to have an escape that is right there if I turn the page. My present escapes happen to me Harry Potter (both the books and the movies), and time period mysteries like Miss Marple, by Agatha Christie and my favorite monk, Cadfael, by Ellis Peters. Are there some others I rely on for that escapism fiction that sends me flying into outer space or back to a time to paint the world in a vastly different hues? Of course! Finding and creating new towns and times gives me a sense of real excitement that constructs a world where that escapism from my life can be a real release valve.

A great example of that is the series by Christopher Paolini which begins with Eargon, and ends with Brisingr. Though considered a young people's series, this group of books creates a fascinating new world filled some of the very best places and characters to escape to when you need a little literary vacation, and for me that holiday from the world can be found between the covers of a mystery or fantasy novel.

Friends, Sisters, Brothers...

We collect things along each part of the path called life. So often we have to have that new gadget, or that new dress. We are constantly search for the things that can make life complete, but we overlook the item that gives us the most joy.

It isn't the new car, or the new dress. They hold only passing dreams.

It isn't the new computer or the new iPod. They hold only passing files.

It isn't the job or the money. They hold only passing control.

It is the relationships - that of love; that of friendship, and that of joy and happiness. Without these life is simply an existence.

Close to the Power

Many a political wife over the years has had to deal with the fallout, and it is not easy to see your life plastered all over in the news because of indiscretions. Elizabeth Edwards was one of those wives. We all think we understand the pain that can be caused by a public indiscretion for a family, but Mrs. Edward's new book, "Resilience," paints a broader picture than even I thought possible.

From her father's physical losses because of illness, to the way she was brought up played a part in how she has responded to a barrage of painful incidents in her recent years. Through her guiding hand in this book we can begin to see the facts in a totally different and more real light, and the people as human and not subjects in the shadow of the limelight. The press has always focused on the sensational stories and we don't see the real lives or the real people who populate them.

Life began for Elizabeth Edwards as a daughter growing up around the world and living the protected life of a military family in base housing where even the music from the military radio station was orchestrated to keep a sense of calm - calm and keeping the soldier and his family in line with a vision that wasn't the reality of the life happening state side. From one of the painful defining moments with the loss of their 16 year old son, she walks the reader through what it is like dealing with the downside of being a political spouse.

This book is worth the read on many levels, but mostly because it gives us a view of a political celebrity who is real in every way.